Arrests of undocumented immigrants in Boston are up 50%

Arrests of undocumented immigrants in the Boston area rose more than 50% in the last fiscal year, according to federal data, signaling that President Trump is pushing to fulfill a campaign vow on bolstering enforcement. This is according to the Boston Globe.

With his administration shifting priorities away from targeting criminals to going after anyone in violation of immigration laws, arrests nationally have grown 30 percent in the same period. Still, the total number of arrests was far lower than during President Barack Obama’s first term.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the Boston area arrested 2,834 immigrants who were in the country illegally during the 2017 fiscal year, which ran from October 2016 to September, compared with 1,858 arrests in the previous fiscal year. The increase was largely due to a surge in “noncriminal” arrests, a figure that more than tripled from 343 to 1,106, the data showed.

Lilian Calderon was detained by ICE as she attempted to apply for legal permanent residency, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Calderon, 30, was brought to the country from Guatemala when she was 3 and is married to a US citizen. The couple, who have two young children, had just finished an interview with immigration officials that confirmed the legitimacy of their marriage — the first step in changing her immigration status — when Calderon was arrested and brought to a Boston detention center.

“ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security,’’ ICE officials said in a statement in response to questions about the increase in arrests. “However . . . ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.”

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on Wednesday, February 21st, 2018 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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